It's "Northwest Ho" as the ALMS Treks to Portland

The Liddell/Field Duo Are Out For Win Number Three in P2 Portland, Oregon, July 22, 2004 - As the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) heads North to set up shop at Portland International Raceway, only four days following an action-packed Infineon Grand Prix in Sonoma, California, setup will be the operative word for all the race teams. Veteran driver Dorsey Schroeder, an expert race analyst for the SPEED Channel, said the following about PIR. Portland is a good mix. It's got an awfully fast front and back straightaway. You set the car up with low drag to get down those straightaways but that whole infield with the sweeping corners and the S's in the back pose a huge problem, Schroeder continued. The cars really want to understeer badly there and you have to make down force to make them not understeer, so it's always a big tradeoff who goes with what setup. Portland has always had a lot of drama to it because you take a look at what happens if you get off of the road; it's not a good thing at all, Schroeder said. You go down the S's in the back and in these cars you can do that nearly flat, but if you have a problem with the traffic, you know a slow car, and get off of the road, it's a big moment. This weeks running of the Portland Grand Prix marks the return of the ALMS to the 1.944-mile road racing circuit for the first time since 2001. And that means many of the current teams have not raced around PIRs demanding twists and turns. Clint Fields Pirelli-equipped Intersport Lola-Judd, P2 winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Mid-Ohio races and fresh off its third victory of the year at the Infineon Grand Prix, comes to Portland with drivers Clint Field and Robin Liddell looking to repeat their Mid-Ohio and Infineon successes. Neither Clint nor Robin has raced at Portland before, but Clints dad, Jon, who normally runs an Intersport P1 entry, has and he should be able to pass along some sage setup advice to the baby prototype duo. Moving to the GTS ranks, both drivers of the Pirelli-shod ACEMCO Saleen S7R, Terry Borcheller and Johnny Mowlem, have previously raced at PIR and recently spent two days of development and tire testing at Portland. The ACEMCO team is looking to rebound from a half shaft failure at Infineon that occurred about halfway into the race. This year has proved to be an up and down affair for the Lamborghini Murcielagos R-GTs of Krohn-Barbour Racing. Following the write-off of one of the cars in a practice accident at Mid-Ohio, the Sonoma race last weekend was the first where the two Pirelli-sponsored Lambos competed together. Unfortunately for drivers David Brabham and Peter Kox of the lead Lambo, a differential failure put them out early in the race. That left it to Tracy Krohn and co-driver David McEntee, subbing for Canadian Scott Maxwell who was denied entry into the U.S. by American customs agents. And they came through in flying colors, finishing 2 nd , and first of the independent GTS entries, behind the factory Corvette of Ron Fellows and Johnny OConnell. The team will be gunning for another strong finish at Portland. In GT, Ralf Kelleners and Anthony Lazzaro, drivers of the Pirelli-sponsored Risi Competizione Ferrari 360 Modena GTC and winners three weeks ago at Lime Rock, were looking to double-up in Sonoma. Unfortunately, the Ferrari was punted off the track early in the race, and the drivers spent the rest of the day playing catch-up. They climbed back to 4 th , just missing the last trophy position, but the Kelleners/Lazzaro duo will be in Portland battling the predominantly Porsche GT cars and aiming for a repeat of their Lime Rock success. The Pirelli-shod Panoz Motor Sports Esperante GT-LM made its ALMS debut at Mid-Ohio and shocked the predominantly Porsche 911 GT class by qualifying second and running for the lead until an accident and a broken half shaft put an end to their day. But following two gremlin-filled weekends at Lime Rock and Infineon, the Panoz team and drivers (Top) Gunnar Jeannette and Kelly Collins, who is filling-in for David (Gas) Saelens at PIR, are looking to wipe-away those last two forgettable races with a trouble-free podium finish at Portland. In recent years alone, Pirelli has won: Seven Sports Car Drivers' Championships and Manufacturers' Championships. The " Triple Crown" (Drivers', Manufacturers' and Team Championships) of the inaugural Grand American Road Racing season in 2000 with the Saleen/Allen Speedlab Team. Two-straight World Sports Car Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers with Fermin Velez racing Team Scandias Ferrari 333 SP in 1995 and Wayne Taylor driving Doyle Racings Oldsmobile Riley & Scott Mk III in 1996; while contributing significantly to Ferraris second WSC Championship in 1998 as Taylor and Doyle-Risi Racing won the WSC Team Championship. In fact, this latter car which also won the prototype class at Le Mans and overall at the inaugural Petit Le Mans will be on display in Infineons victory circle this weekend. Four-straight GTS-II Championships for Manufacturers and Drivers, including three straight by Larry Schumacher at the wheel of a Porsche 911 RSR. Pirelli has won the 12 Hours of Sebring race overall several times, including back-to-back victories in 1995 and 1996. It also has numerous class wins at the 12 Hours of Sebring, including three-straight wins in GTS-2 at Sebring from 1995-1997. Following the 1998 season, Pirelli took a hiatus from sports car  racing in America until 2002 when it returned to the American Le Mans Series. With several class wins and podium finishes already in 2004, Pirelli is setting up for even greater success as the ALMS moves to PIR for the Portland Grand Prix. The race will be televised live on the SPEED Channel on July 25 from 4-7 p.m. (EDT). Race fans can also listen to live coverage of the race on the ALMS radio web at www.americanlemans.com. Pirelli Tire North America specializes in the manufacture and marketing of high-performance car, light truck and motorcycle tires and currently has three of its highly advanced MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) modules in operation in a new factory near Atlanta, Georgia, to better serve the American OEM and Replacement markets. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.us.pirelli.com.